Hood latch for motor vehicles



D'ORSAY McCALL WHITE. HOOD LATCH FOR MOTORVEHi'CLES.

APPLlCATlON FILED FEB. 5. I92].

1,414,242 Patented Apr. 25, 1922,

INVENTOR. v v .D'OeMr 614417 140.

' "ATTORNEYS,

T 0 all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DORSAY MCCALL WHITE, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO LA FAYETTEMOTORS COMPANY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, A CORPORATION.

HOOD LATCH FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Batent. Patented 25. 1922 Application filedFebruary 5, 1921; SerialNo. 442,768.

Be it known that I, DORSAY MoCALL WHITE, a subject of the Kingdom 0fGreat Britain, and a resident vof Indianapolis, county of Marion, andState of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Hood Latch forMotor Vehicles; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts. I

This invention. relates to hood locks and the like, and the chief objectof the-same is to provide a hood with enclosed latching means, includingan exteriorly positioned operating handle by which the hood may be.elevated when the latching means is in unlocking relation and withcatch means which .when released is movable by gravity into thenon-latching relation.

The chief feature of'the invention consists in constructing a hood locksuch that the latching portions will be positively actuated to latch thehood in closed position and will be positively maintained in said closedhood latching position, but which when released is movable by gravityinto the non-latching position.

Another feature of the invention consists in the particular constructionof the catch, andthe actuating means therefor associated with the handlemeans and operable thereby.

Other features of the invention consist in the specific construction ofthe enclosed hood latch and hood elevating handle.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a hood latch with theparts in the hood closing position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectionalview taken on line 22 of Fig. 1 and in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view similar to Fig.

1 but shows said parts in the unlatched or released position.

In the drawings 10 indicates a supporting member such as the chassischannel portion to which is suitably secured an upwardly extending hookor catch 11, said member being detachably secured thereto by suitablebolt and nut means 12. The catch 11 is provided with a hook portion 13.Mindcates the hood which is provided at its lower ent instance said hoodis adapted to bear against the hook l1.

" The hood 14 is apertured to receive a bracket plate l6. Positionedadjacent the aperture and preferably surrounding the same is areenforcing plate 117. The hood reen forcing plate, hood and bracketplate are secured together inrigid relation by suitable bolt and nutmeans 18. Thus, the bracket'16 is rigidly supported upon the hood 14.The bracket 16 is centrally apertured at 17 and a shaft 18 is rotatablysupported therein. The shaft 18 carries upon one and a circular plateportion 19 and secured thereto or integral therewith is an ornamentalhandle 20 which is substantially T-shaped.

The bracket 16 is provided with arm .means extending angularly' thereofand plate portion 22. The bracket arms, however, extend beyond saidplate portion and provide the parallel bearing portions 23, whichbearing portions pivotally support a hook or catch member 24.- The hook24 is'pivotally supported in the free ends of said arms by suitablemeans such as the pivot bolt or pin 25. The free end of the hook 24extends sidewardly' in both directions to provide av plate portion 26which also projects forwardlyof said supporting portion of the hook andis adapted to engage the hook 13 of the catch 11. The body portionof'the hook 24 is extended to form a web and a hole 27 is provided insaid web.

Upon the inner end of the shaft 18 is suitably secured an eccentric arm28 which is keyed to' said shaft'by the pin 29. .A coiled spring member30 has one end secured to the hook 24 by engaging in the opening 27 andthe other end is eccentrically positioned with respect to the shaft 18by being suitably secured by the bolt 31 to the eccenmove to the upperposition illustrated in Fig.

1 and thereby through the spring 30 draw end with the usual head 15, andin the presthe pivotal hook 26 into engagement with the hook 13 to latchthe hood in closed position. The pin 32 being positioned slightlyovercenter, is adapted to maintain the eccentric arm 28 in the elevatedand overcenter position. When the handle 20 is reversely rotated, theeccentric arm 28 is moved from the position shown in Fig. 1 to'theposition shown in Fig. 3 which thereupon releases the tension upon thespring member 30 and'the same contracts into its usual unstrainedposition. Thus,'no 11 Ward directing force is exerted upon the 00k 26and the same, therefore, falls due to the influence of gravity thereonfrom the position shown in Fig.

1 to the position'shown in Fig. 3, both of which positions are alsoshown-in Fig. 2. In the present instance to prevent reverse rotation,the stop pin 32 prevents further rotational movement than that shown inFig. 3, thereby insuring thatthe arm 28 cannot be continuously rotatedbut necessitates reverse rotation of the handle 20 to position theseveral parts in the locking or hood closing position. 7 While theinvention has been described in great detail, it will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art that various modifications maybesubstituted for the several parts herein shown without departing fromthe broader features of the invention. It is to be understood that theforegoing description is illustrative rather than restrictive incharacter. v

The invention claimed is: A

1. A hood latch for motor vehicle incluc ing a chassis supported latchmember positioned within the hood, an engaging member within the hoodand supported thereby, and means operable from without the hood forcausing said members to engageand latch the hood to the chassis, saidengaging member being movable by gravity away from said latching memberto the released position when the exteriorly-operated means is moved inone direction and drawn into engagement therewith when said means isoperated in the other direction.

2. A hood latch for a motor vehicle, including an automobile hoodlatching means positioned within the hood, and means for actuating saidlatching means, said actuating means being so arranged that when movedin unlatching position it will permit the release of said latching meansby gravity, and

when moved to the opposite position, it will cause the engagement of thelatching means and the latching of said hood.

3. In a hood latch for motor vehicles having a latch-supporting plateincluding a bearing, a depending bracket arm secured within said hoodforming a pivotal support,- a catch pivotally supported on said bracketarm, a pivotal actuating member extending from without said hood throughsaid. bearing, and means connected to said catch and actuating memberfor-drawing said catch into latching position.

4. In a hood latch for motor vehicles having a chassis, a latchingmember secured to said chassis, an actuating handle'mounted' on theouter side of said hood and extending therethrough, a bracket armsecured to the inside of said hood and forming a pivotal support, acatch pivotally supported by said bracket arm, and means secured to saidcatch and to said actuating handle for per-, mitting said catch todisengage said'latch member when operated in one direction and be drawninto engagement therewith when turned in the opposite direction.

5. In a hood latch for motor vehicles hav-- ing a chassis, a latchmember secured to said hood when released, and yielding means securedtosaid catch and eccentrically to said actuating handle for permittingsaid catch to swing by gravity downwardly and away from said latchingmember when operated in one direction and be yieldingly drawn intolatching engagement therewith when turned in the opposite direction.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto aflixed my signature.

DORSAY MOCALL WHITE.

